They may not be long-term solutions, but what should fans expect from the new additions to the Washington Wizards?
The Washington Wizards are welcoming in three new faces after a couple of moves on the Wednesday before the trade deadline: Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis from the Chicago Bulls, and Wesley Johnson from the New Orleans Pelicans.
All three players have been in the league for a considerable amount of time. Portis, the youngest of the trio, is already in his fourth season, Parker is in his fifth, and Johnson is in his ninth. They have enough of a track record for the Wizards to know what they’re getting, at least in part.
Players don’t tend to stick around this long unless they bring something to the table. Even if it’s not much, all three players have crafted their games to some extent to make them a worthwhile addition to a roster.
Plus, although the moves were primarily made as luxury-tax relief going into the offseason, Washington is still going to need to put out a squad for the remaining 29 games. The Wizards traded away not just starting-caliber players in the deals in the form of Otto Porter to the Bulls and Markieff Morris to the Pelicans, but players that generated much of the team’s on-court production at various points in the season.
Even though they had been starters for most of their time in Washington, Porter and Morris contributed a lot off the bench for key stretches of this season. Morris became the primary backup big man and small-ball center before his injury. Meanwhile, after returning from his, Porter looked like a Sixth Man of the Year candidate for most of January before he was inserted back into the starting lineup towards the end of the month.
Point being, Parker, Portis, and Johnson will be leaned upon to replace what Washington shipped out. Let’s take a look at what fans can expect from the new additions.